This present invention relates to a child seat for use in a vehicle, and particularly to a child seat having an article holder. More particularly, the present invention relates to an article holder mounted to a child seat and configured to hold items needed by a caregiver and child.
Child seats are often used in vehicles to provide seats for children. Typically, a child seat includes a seating surface for the child and a pivotable barrier shield movable relative to the seating surface to a position retaining the child in a seated position on the seating surface. Many barrier shields are formed to receive vehicle lap belts so that the lap belt can be used to retain the child seat and its barrier shield in a selected position on an underlying regular vehicle seat. One well-known child seat is the EXPLORER.RTM. brand seat made by Cosco, Inc. of Columbus, Ind. and disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. Des. 291,032. Child seats are also disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,275,464; 4,521,052; 4,754,999; 5,183,311; 4,643,474; 4,671,574; and 4,765,685; and in U.S. Pat. Nos. Des. 330,842; 324,611; and 307,834.
A child seat configured to hold cups or other articles for children seated in the child seat would be welcomed by consumers. A child seat having an article holder would be convenient both for children and their caregivers.
According to the present invention, a child seat is provided for seating a child in a selected place. The child seat includes a seat having left and right side walls and a seat bottom positioned therebetween. An article holder or cup holder is mounted to the seat along one of the left and right side walls.
In preferred embodiments of the present invention, the side-mounted cup holder moves with the child seat as the seat is moved between seats in a vehicle or between vehicles. The side-mounted cup holder remains accessible to the children sitting in the child seat and their caregivers no matter where the child seat is placed.
Several cavities are formed in the cup holder for holding miscellaneous items of the children sitting in the child seat and their caregivers. One cavity formed in the cup holder is substantially round in shape to provide a secure and convenient location for caregivers and children to place bottles, cups, and juiceboxes. Another triangularly-shaped cavity is formed in the cup holder to receive other miscellaneous items.
The seat is formed to include a downwardly-opening, cup holder-receiving mounting chamber formed in the left side wall. The mounting chamber provides a mounting location for the cup holder that is hidden behind the left side wall. The cup holder also includes a mounting portion having spaced-apart mounting brackets that extend into the mounting chamber. To assemble the cup holder onto the seat, the mounting brackets are placed in the mounting chamber and screws connect the mounting brackets to the seat to position the cup holder adjacent to the left side wall.
The cup holder includes a hidden-from-view mounting portion and the seat includes a hidden-from-view mounting chamber so that the mounting location for the cup holder and seat is hidden and thus the screws are hidden within the mounting chamber behind the left side wall. When the cup holder is removed from the seat, the child seat retains its aesthetically pleasing appearance because the mounting location is hidden. In addition, the article holder is shaped to match the contours of the seat so that the child seat maintains its aesthetically-pleasing appearance when the article holder is mounted to the seat.
Additional objects, features, and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the following detailed description of preferred embodiments exemplifying the best mode of carrying out the invention as presently perceived.